her not to make a move. let us wait. let big bill wait. see how this second obama term starts off. learn how the country is doing. watch, listen, enjoy life in this country. you have four years traveling the world. kick back and enjoy this country. i wish her well. that's "hardball" for now. the ed show starts right now. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" from new york. the president has told progressive leaders he's not budging on taxes. >> we're prepared to stand up for mechaniamerica. >> the campaign for the middle class begins at the white house, and the campaign pour millionaires has begun on the senate floor. >> half the congress opposes tax hikes. >> tonight, mary kay henry of the service employees international union and senator brown on the new campaign for the middle class. paul ryan is finally speaking,

and he's still in the bubble. >> i think the surprise was some of the turnout. some of the turnout especially in urban areas. >> ohio state senator turner is here to respond. the petition to see seed is growing with speed. >> deep in the heart of texas! >> find out why i agree with rick perry. texas is not allowed to leave the union. thanks for watching. president obama came back to washington to fight for fair deal on taxes. today he called on his base. i love it. he went right to the folks who put him in the white house. president obama held his first official closed door meeting with groups from outside the white house. the invited guests were all leaders of labor organizations and progressive think tanks. compare this list to the guest list for tomorrow's meeting. 12 of the most powerful ceos in american business. this schedule was not a mistake.

president obama was letting the middle class and the workers of this country know, you come first! aflcio president is confident the president will keep his commitment to the current tax rates for the middle class. >> the president led with that notion of protecting the middle class, and now you have republicans that have it in their power. they could sign a bill tomorrow that protects the middle class, and we'll see what they do. are we going to push them on that? without a doubt we're going to push them on that. are we going to collectively stand up and make sure that workers get a fair shake in all of this? absolutely, we are. do we believe that the president is committed to that same thing? absolutely, we do. >> details of the president's off the record meeting are emerging. the huffington post reports tonight that president obama said he will not extend the bush tax cuts for those at the top. i am not going to budge. i said it in 2010 and i'm not going to do -- i'm going only

going to do this once, and i meant it. the source said that the president seemed to agree that social security should not be part of any grand bargain, because it didn't add to the deficit. democrats are in a strong position. republicans are trying to make it seem like they are also in a strong position. listen to minority leader in the senate mitch mcconnell talk tough on the senate floor today. >> if the president is really serious about solving current crises and avoiding future ones, he has it to step up and lead. >> mcconnell was so bold when he was confronted by reporters. he sat silently during a photo op with new republican senators. >> senator mcconnell, are you willing to compromise? >> come on guys, go. come on. >> can you not push me and everybody else? >> yep. >> mcconnell is not responding because he doesn't have an answer. democrats won decisively last

week. they protected 23 seats and picked up two more. plus, mcconnell's plan is exactly what the american people voted against. >> the best way forward, the way that will lead to jobs and growth, a smaller deficit and fewer fights is to keep everybody's tax rights where they are for now. figure out a way to avoid the automatic defense cuts scheduled to hit at the end of the year without cutting a penny less than we promised. and committing to the kind of comprehensive tax and entitlement reform that we all claim we want. >> according to mitch mcconnell the best way forward is to do exactly what he wants. this is not going to fly with the public. a new pew poll shows 53% of the american people will blame republicans if the country goes over the fiscal cliff. only 29% would blame the president of the united states. house speaker john boehner has less support each day for a hard line approach. republican opposition to tax increases is slipping in

congress. anti-tax lobbyist grover norquist no longer as a majority of supporters in either chamber. "the hill" says newly elected republicans refuse to sign the anti-tax pledge during the campaigns and another handful of returning republicans have disavowed their alliance to the written commitment. it's about time. at least they paid attention to the election. today bobby jindal scolded the entire party for the approach to the economy. hold it right there. this comment, he sewer sounds like a democrat. we've got to make sure that weren't the party of big business, big banks, big wall street bailouts, big corporate loopho loophole, big anything. we cannot be, we must not be the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys. bobby, come on over to the good side, dude. you're talking like a conservative democrat. momentum is on the president's

side. he just needs to know how motivated his allies are. the hard work didn't end last tuesday. democrats scored big, but they need to finish this game. the labor leaders who met with the president of the united states today made it very clear. they will stay engaged, and they will do whatever it takes to go to the public to tell the story. the campaign of last year is not over. >> we're united in a campaign throughout this country. >> we're going into another campaign. we won the election, but we're going into another campaign now. folks realize na and understand it. >> we need to stay as engaged as we were in the election. >> we expressed our commitment to keep this campaign going. >> okay. they are focused. i have to ask the question tonight. let's say we're in the big locker room here. are you focused? are you ready to do this? you know, if we put half the effort into making sure the president gets what he needs from his base as we did working on voter suppression and voter

registration, we will get what we have to get to turn this country around financially. what i don't want to see the democrats do is go out and do a long-term deal. no, no, no. do a short-term deal. make it two years. let's come back and revisit this for 2014. i say that because it will be certainly an election year issue. most of all, if we can start getting money into the treasury and make some progress and just start to chip away at it and move it down and prove that the wealthiest americans can pay a little bit more and we can make some progress with the treasury, it will be a great time to really put the hammer down in 2014 and prove to the country that we're headed in the right direction. just remember the chart that we always love to show on this program. the vulture chart. the red liners up there, don't tell me that they can't pay a little bit more. it encourages me big-time when i hear the president off the record -- i don't know how it slipped out of the meeting, but somebody said that wasn't going

to budge. that's music to my ears. that should be motivating to every american who voted for this president we'll get what we want out of this. we're going to fix the treasury. there will be cuts, but those wealthiest americans, the vultures on the top line have to pay more. get your cell phones out. tonight's question, do you support the fight over the fiscal cliff? text a for president obama and the democrats and text b for the republicans to 622639 or go to our blog. we'll bring you the results later in the show. joins me now is u.s. senator sherrod brown. we have nina turner coming up later on. >> i love watching nina on your show. >> i get you passionate ohio folks mixed up. >> that's okay. >> sherrod brown with us and mary kay henry, president of the services employment international union who met with the president today. i would be remiss, mary kay, if

i did not ask you right off the bat, did the president say he was not going to budge on taxes? he did it once in 2010, and he won't do it again? >> the president was incredibly serious and focused and really relieved to hear that we are going to keep our ground game going, that our working people and community members all across this country are ready to have this fight and want to have the middle class tax cuts permanently extended. that's the action that congress can take right now. and then work together to make sure that the wealthiest americans pay their fair share so we can get back to work. >> well, did he tell the group that he was not going to budge on taxes? >> he was crystal clear about that, yes. >> so you're confirming the huffington post report tonight that he said that he moved in 2010, and he won't do it again? >> i don't know the exact words, ed, but he was very, very clear that what he said right after the election is that he believes

he has a mandate from the majority of this nation thatments thatmenwants to make sure we can reinvigorate this economic recovery that he started in the first term. we're completely proud to have his back and to make sure that every american knows what's at stake in this debate. >> senator brown, how do you take that information? >> i take it the way i think he meant it. i talked to him the day after the election. he was pretty excited about carrying our state thanks to many including mary kay and her union and so many other people, grassroots union and nonunion all over the state. he was solid then. he says it again. he means it. i think that the organizing around it so very important. the labor movement, consumer groups, women's groups, advocates all over the country that care about more tax fairness. it's not just -- you don't just tax your way into a balanced budget or cut your way. you also grow your way, and there's going to be a jobs component on this with infrastructure and helping local

governments and all the things that we should be doing to make sure we see the kind of economic growth we need to give people a shot at the middle class. most of america would rather pay taxes than they would drawing an unemployment check. that's what we operate under, that assumption, and we need as part of this taxing the wealthy to pay a little bit more and some reasonable balanced cuts, but more of a 1:1 ratio rather than what republicans want to do. you need a jobs component, too. >> this comes down to negotiations, and from what is reported about what the president told the basers in that meeting today, doesn't that send a real hard line message to mitch mcconnell, and that's what's lacking in all of this? >> i think mitch mcconnell is a little worried. you saw some of these people on election night. you saw karl rove's response. you saw mcconnell the next day. you saw speaker boehner, who is the most -- i think the most flexible of the group.

they know that they're going to have to come to the table and give on a lot of things. not just that we won the election, but when i see the organizing around the president's message. he'll travel the country and talk to people, and the country is overwhelmingly with him. even people that didn't vote for him, many think the rich should pay battle more and focus on jobs. when you put that together, it's clear that the president is in a good position to win this. it really is another campaign in so many ways. >> ed, i think people think the negotiations happened for the last year in this country. we had a national debate on this question. the people have spoken. we want our government to answer the call. so for us, the issue of negotiating is we need the republican in the house to extend the middle class tax cuts permanently so they can show they're really serious about restoring the american middle class in this country. >> all right. day one, getting everybody on the same page.

it sounds good to me. senator brown and mary kay henry, the service employees international union. great to have you with us tonight, remember to answer tonight at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts at twitter and on facebook. we're always looking for your comments. coming up, paul ryan's first interview about the election and he seemed diluted about up some points. so much more coming up. stay with us. - one day, we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next... stop, stop, stop! my car! not so much. but that's okay. you're covered with great ideas like optional better car replacement from liberty mutual insurance. total your car, and we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. learn about it at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility -- what's your policy?

paul ryan says she was shocked by the turnout of voters in urban areas. we'll go inside the bubble. the petraeus scandal is the right wing's latest shiny object. it turns out it all started with an attempt to smear the president of the united states. over 80,000 texans want to see seed from the union and leave america and start their own gig, right? governor rick perry says no way. i'll explain why democrats neetd

to get on board. share your thoughts on facebook and on twitter using #edshow. we'll be right back. the results could be felt around the world.

twice the stain fighting power as the leading liquid value brand. era detergent. a lot of fight for a little dough. the white house has announced the president of the united states will hold his first press conference tomorrow since winning re-election. meanwhile, in his first sets of interviews since the election paul ryan says he really thought the republican ticket was going to win. reality bursts the bubble. >> the polling we had, the numbers we were looking at looked like we stood a pretty good chance of winning, and so when the numbers came in going the other direction, when we saw

the kind of turnout that was occurring in urban areas, which are fairly unprecedented, it did come as a bit of a shock. those are the tough losses to have. the ones that catch you by surprise. the surprise was the turnout in urban areas which gave president obama the big margin to win this race. >> voters suppression, they just didn't get it done, right? congressman ryan is supposed to be the heavyweight on numbers. he's the chair of the house budget committee, so if he was actually relying on the campaign's internal polling, we should doubt his judgment more than ever, don't you think? romney and ryan didn't lose in urban areas. not only there, they lost among women and young voters, and they lost by a large margin. there's another revelation from the ryan interview. he doesn't believe the gop policy has anything to do with the loss. >> i think we ran a big

campaign. we made a campaign about big ideas and gave the country a clear choice. i respect the fact that the process is done, that the president won the race, and i congratulate him on the race. i don't think we lost it on budget issues. on medicare, we didn't lose it on those issues. >> on one hand he says that they offered the country a very clear choice, but then he claims they didn't lose the election on budget issues. congressman ryan is wrong. in exit polls 60% favor tax rates increasing either for everyone or for those making more than $250,000 a year. as for urban areas? romney and ryan lost. there is an obvious connection to the republican policy. african-american, latino, young voters, they simply do not buy ryan's approach, and that is every man for himself. let's turn to ohio state senator nina turner. senator, good to have you with us tonight. i think this is important because this is an admission

that their voter suppression did not work, and turnout does work. all of the talk before the election did connect with people. information is power. motivation is what makes it happen. ryan doesn't see a connection between his policy proposals and his ticket's -- and the gop ticket defeat. what do you make of that? >> well, i have two words for congressman ryan and the other gop who are out of touch with this. seek help. the fact they don't understand that urban folks, i.e., factory workers, auto workers, teachers, police officers, nurses, students, the elderly, african-americans, whites, latinos that live in the urban area renewed president obama's contract because they believe that what his policies are for the better interest of those of us who live in this country. to they need to seek help. >> how do you build on this in

2014? >> well, we got to continue to remind, because you're absolutely right. we went to sleep after 2008, and they swept us in 2010, and we cannot afford to fall asleeve after this big victory. we need the president and those in congress not to forget those states that really pushed him through, especially ohio. we have a lot of cleanup to do in 2014, and the president needs a congress to work with. right here in the state of ohio, even though we just went through the election process, they are here trying to defund planned parenthood yet again and to pass what i call the heartless bill, the heartbeat bill, therefore effectively banning an abortion in the state of ohio. so they have not learned their lesson, and we have to remind women, men who up respect women, and everybody else in this country just what the gop stands for and what they care about. they don't care about many of us in this country at all. >> here's part of ryan's speech on poverty. this was just a month before the

election. here it is. >> here's the problem. the welfare reform mindset has not been applied with equal vigor across the spectrum of our anti-poverty programs. >> what do you think of that? how can he change his view on that between now and 2014 or even in the long term? i mean, are republicans offering a credible approach to lifting people out of poverty? >> not at all, ed. i mean, again, if you look at the state of ohio, for example, cutting funding to k through 12 education, but yet, you say you care about children. cutting funding to local government funds, but you care about children. they don't care about the poor, and as was illustrated and thank god the american people didn't buy it, they will say and do anything to try to win an election. it is my sincere hope that the voters not only in the state of ohio but across this country do not forget what they stand for and what they will do.

we have to continue to work to help the president build the congress that he needs and we cannot forget the state elected offices. we have got to use our political clout to clean governor's mansions and statehouses across the country. it takes teamwork to make the american dream work. that's from the white house to congress to the statehouse to governors' mansions across this country. we're going to fight, ed. >> quickly, senator, i want to make sure i heard you correctly. on a state level in ohio, the righties are trying to defund planned correctly? >> yes, you did, ed. they're after women yet again. >> ohio state senator nina turner. as you can see, the battle goes on. a dramatic turn in the petraeus affair. it's the shiny object the right wing was hoping for. karen finney will weigh in on that. then, it's the death of traditional america? republicans say that they are --

there are clear signs this country is flat out falling apart. we'll let bill o'reilly make his party's case. stay with us. have a good night. here you go. you, too. i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power

of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. he's going to apply testosterone to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count,

headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. a great clean doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm gonna read one of these. i'm gonna read one of these! [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 duster's extender gets into hard-to-reach places without the hassle. so you can get unbelievable dust pickup in less time without missing a thing. i love that book. can you believe the twin did it?

♪ swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. the petraeus files are getting thick and gets more bizarre. conservatives are deshed to make it into a full-blown obama administration scandal. it involving his successor in

afghanistan, marine corps general john allen. they both have kexzs to jill kelly who does volunteer work with military families. kelley alerted a friend of hers at the fbi after receiving harassing e-mails. them call from paul broadwell, petraeus's biographer. they admitted to having an fair. that affair led to hez rez mags. they discovered potentially inappropriate communications between jill kelley of am tm pa and general allen. they reviewed 30,000 pages of documents including e-mails over the course of two years, but found no wrongdoing by general allen. the fbi turned it over to the pentagon, and the pentagon has ordered its own investigation. the married general allen denies an improper relationship with kelley. he's currently president obama's

choice for supreme allied commander of nato forces in europe. that nomination is on hold. as nbc news reports the president learned of the problems on friday, the same day he accepted petraeus's resignation. that hasn't stopped the con spearary theorists over on fox news. >> who knew about the affair before the leak, and why didn't they speak up? >> the idea that obama would not be told by coincidence two or three days after the election absolutely beyond belief. >> you have to suspend disbelief. >> it appears that the white house is lying again just as it was lying about benghazi. >> how could the fbi pick up something like this in the spring and take months to figure it out? >> we're supposed to believe that an affair involving the hetd of the cia was never discuss. >> did the sex scandal influence benghazi? why president obama didn't know

about it? so if he did know about it, there were months that went by. i mean, eric holder at least knew about it. >> if holder new it. when obama smelt it holder dealt it. >> eric holder didn't talk to one of his closest friends? that's barack obama. >> i'm joined by karen finney, former communications director for the dnc. a lot it to unpack here. everybody on that network happens to believe there is some huge, shiny object the right wing should be focused on totally. this is what they need and want. your thoughts on the narrative out there, that this is some big conspiracy and cover-up? >> you know, poppycock. how about that? this is a network that was convinced, convinced that mitt romney was going to win last tuesday. take it with a mound of salt. i think it's pretty clear and i wrote in my column for "the hill" about this this week. from the beginning they were

more interested in figuring out how to use this to attack eric holder and the obama administration broadly? what's similar the way they deal with the benghazi situation, there really are significant, important questions that need to be asked. we shouldn't -- we need to separate that out from what is also just a very sad but all too common story about a man getting brought down by, you know, being distracted by a woman. >> the white house is supporting general allen, although his nomination of supreme allied commander is put on hold. what do you make of that? >> i think that's appropriate. there is an investigation going on at dod. let me speak more broadly. i actually talked to folks at the department of justice. the thing we have to remember is what we know now is not what they knew when they started the investigation. when they started the investigation, they didn't know what they had, and as facts unfolded, they decided to take sort of the next step. from everything we know at this

point, people went up their chain of command, which ended with going to clapper who went to the white house and then to the president. the last interview actually with paula broadwell was the friday before the election. in terms of the timing and all of this kind of stuff, you know, again, i think that people who want to seek conspiracy theories will find them. >> the fact the white house is supporting allen, they must know that he is in the clear, and they are in safe territory because this could be a very dangerous position if there was some kind of wrongdoing that would be uncovered later on. >> you know, ed, i can tell you from my own experience working in the clinton administration, i take a slightly different view. that is that they -- he can't -- it would not be prudent to withdraw the nomination until you know wheat the facts are. >> they put it on hold. >> it's on hold while this investigation playing itself out, and that seems like the appropriate thing to do.

we take it seriously and we're going to investigate. you know, i think it's important the president has made it clear he still stands by allen. >> i said in my opening to this story there's something bizarre here. here we go. the fbi agent that jill kelley first contacted reportedly sent shirtless photos of himself to jill kelley. >> yes. >> he's now a subject of an ethic inquiry over it that. the agent also contacted eric cantor about the investigation, because he believed the case had stalled to protect the president of the united states. >> right. >> partisanship taking place inside the fbi? is that a red flag? >> it is a red flag, and i mean, it certainly sounds like it. it certainly is disturbing and not, obviously, within -- there's a lot there that's wrong in terms of the protocols there. you know, i guess there's a question to be asked in terms of what eric cantor and i believe there's another republican, why gert, who was notified.

they passed the information on to the fbi here. there's definitely some real questions about what was the motivation of that fbi agent in reporting that. >> what it comes down with the house and senate intel committee going to vet all of this with hearings, we're going to find out that the right wing is early terribly wrong or they were onto something? that's the way it's going to come down. >> and that maybe the investigation and everything that happened happened the way -- just as a reminder, the protocols in place at the department of justice, he reminded everybody of that under george bush. >> yes, he did. karen finney, thank you. there's a lot more in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay right with us. >> is traditional america gone for good? >> the mayor of cable news cannot believe white men are losing their grip on power. mike and joan will break down his latest tirade. >> mr. obama won the woman vote,

blacks and asians but the hispanic vote really nailed romney. it was an entitlement vote this year. >> get up cringekriss kringle. >> i'm santa claus. >> consumers are turning up the heat on the donald. i'll have the details ahead. and southern american states want to split off and form their own country following the re-election of president obama. coming up, i'll tell you why the democrats shouldn't mess with texas. i love to eat. i love hanging out with my friends.

i have a great fit with my dentures. i love kiwis. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free -- it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. super poligrip free made the kiwi an enjoyable experience. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip.

♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense.

from td ameritrade. how do you think it got this tight? >> it's a changing country. the demographics are changing. it's not a traditional america anymore, and there are 50% of the voting public who want stuff. >> welcome back to "the ed show. the" republicans like bill o'reilly with whining about the death of what they call traditional america.

o'reilly claims these are signs that america is falling apart. fewer people go to church regularly. more babies are born to unmarried minorities. women get abortions on demand and two states legalized recreational use for marijuana. o'reilly says americans voted for a man who won't be good for the country. he thinks voters just didn't understand the issues. >> secularism is an eroding traditional power. no question about it. the sps don't care did bakz. they don't want limitation on private behavior, no judgments. want to smoke drugs? fine. want to abort a fetus? we'll drive you to the clinic. want to have a kid when you're 16? no problem at all. we'll support you. i believe the majority of american can be persuaded that the far left is a dangerous outfit bent on destroying traditional america and replacing it with dependence and poverty.

>> all right, folks, give you a chance to consume that. if this sounds familiar, doggone it, it is. republicans like o'reilly have been trying to sell the same traditional america message for decades. >> don't look now, young man, but somebody has his hand in the pocket. it's the hand of big government. >> i ask you to join me in helping to restore the individual freedoms and initiatives this nation once knew. >> goldwater, nixon, reagan, bush, mccain and romney complained about big government. complained an awful lot about big government but supported laws against abortion, marriage and pot. it looks like republicans still haven't learned what real american values are after all. let's bring in joan walsh editor at large for salon.com and author of "what's the matter with white people." michael eric dyson is with us today from georgetown university. professor, you first.

what are traditional american values. pretty generic question but pinpointing the answer was it. >> no doubt about it. i heard once a division that tradition is the living faith of dead men and women, and the traditional is the dead faith of living men and women. since he said traditional, it's the dead faith of men and women. this harkening back to a gold enera is predicated on the desire to control the president by pro jkting a past that never was what they claimed it was. when "father knew best" and american white men were at the helm of american society in television and beyond, women were abused and the silencing of minorities happened and there's an extraordinary inability of america to recognize freedom for everybody. for me, tradition is democracy, freedom, justice, equality, and the ability to project the best

of the american spirit to the world. i believe in american traditions, just not the ones that bill o'reilly wants to celebrate. >> in your book you say ronald reagan lied about poverty so he could succeed. you wrote middle class folks didn't centhave to worry they w indulging resentment. they were doing it because those programs hurt poor people. reagan said so. do the republicans still believe this message? >> i don't know if they really believe it. i don't know if they care. they don't care about the poor, but they've been selling it for a long time, ed. i'm with michael. he is looking backwards to an america that wasn't as wonderful as he thinks, and he's becoming kind of like a glenn beck figure. he's really not leaving it alone. when he went here on election night, i thought maybe he'll get over it. the majority of americans voted for barack obama. we have values. the majority of catholics voted for barack obama. a vast majority of jews voted

for president obama. he has a problem with white protestant southern evangelical people, but he doesn't have -- it's not his whole coalition is secular. we have values, too. >> professor, how can we not come to the conclusion that bill o'reilly thinks diversity is the root of all evil in america after listening to that? >> well, it's hard not to conclude that, because what is happening here is a kind of refrenchment, a kind of politics of panic and fear. it's not what we believed it to be. it's now how we believed it to be. it's not the kind of society we believed in because we don't see ourselves reflected in the broader society. it's a matter of trust. we don't trust these people. we don't know who barack obama is. they spent the last four years trying to define obama outside of the arc of american identity. they've tried to define african-american people, latinos, women, gay, lesbian people outside of the arc of america. guess what? after 2050 the majority of

america will not be white. the majority of america will be diverse and not only racially but beliefs and ideas about what makes america great. you do not have a copyright on what it means to be an american. it means to be skeptical of those who claim that their variety of patriotism is the only route to redemption for america. i say open the doors, bring us your teaming masses, and allow the great ideals of the world to nourish american identity. >> joan, how insulting is it to voters that decided to vote for president obama on election day? >> it's deeply insulting. he's saying that we want stuff. that we're dependent. that we're lazy. the fact is, you know, bakz in the '60s and '70s and said love it or leave it. i want to say to them, america love it or be left behind. you don't love america if you can't embrace this change. you're going to be a very sad,

grumpy old man, and you're going to turn out like bill o'reilly, and that's not pretty. >> great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. >> thank you. now that the election is over, donald trump has found yet a new target. i'll show you who it is next. stay with us. mr. margin? don't be modest, bob. you found a better way to pack a bowling ball. that was ups. and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked a question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows. i'll do that. you're on a roll. that's funny. i wasn't being funny, bob. i know.

welcome back, we love hearings from viewers on twitter and on facebook. many urge the president of the united states to stand strong on the fiscal cliff negotiations. ken says the republican plan for tax reform is to close middle class tax loopholes while leaving tax floodgates open for corporations. paul tells the president, you won big. don't be intimidated by the greedy gop leaders who have held the united states hostage. jamie from south carolina says, nominate united steelworkers president leo gerard, who was on the show last night for

secretary of labor. i like that one. keep sharing your thoughts with us at ed show. coming up, the donald. backlash begins. over half a million people are calling on macy's to dump trump's products from their stores. all the details when we come back. stay with us. we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

birthism, sexism, climate change denial, twitter rants, you name it, all of those things i'm sure gets you in the christmas spirit. if so, macy's has the perfect product for you. the famed department store is feeling the heat after including professional troll donald trump in the store's new holiday ad campaign. check it out. >> what's with the get us, kriss kringle? >> i'm santa claus. >> let me see for myself. >> go ahead and pull it. >> get it, to macy's it's awful funny that trump is a bitter rt. he doesn't just harass the

president of the united states, he questions if santa himself is telling the truth. over half a million customers are not laughing. they don't like it. that's how many people have signed a signon.org to stop features his products and featuring him in their ads. their statement reads, macy's says it has a strong obligation to be "socially responsible" and that "actions speak louder than words." indeed. it's time to act. the trump brand has lost all credibility and value. he's a national joke, and trump is one who really doesn't seem to get it at this point, does he? just watch the guy who talks tough on china pitching his clothing line on letterman. >> where are the shirts made? bangladesh. >> we employ people in bangladesh. >> these are beautiful ties. they're made where? china. ties are made in china.

>> that's who macy's wants to represent their brand, but the power is in the hands of the consumer, and the number of petition signatures keeps on growing. what more could you want for christmas than trump-free tv? tonight in our survey, i asked you, who do you support in the fight over the fiscal cliff? 97% of you say president obama and the democrats, 3% say the republicans. coming up, republicans are so upset by president obama's win they're signing petitions to cede from union. author jim moore will tell us if they're serious down there in texas.

ally bank. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy

starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen.

a great clean doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 dusters extender can clean hard to reach places

in less time. swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. the big finish tonight. thankz to president obama's re-election some republicans think the apocalypse is right around the corner, so they are reorganizing. it's gotten so bad residents in 40 states have started petitions to peacefully cede from the union. the petitions have been filed with the obama administration's we the people program. if a petition receives 25,000 signatures within 30 days, it will be reviewed by the white house and a response will be issued. so far texas, florida, georgia, and louisiana have all met the 25,000 mark. of course, the big winner is texas. over 84,000 people in texas have signed up to break way from the united states. as of tonight the white house has not issued a response to any

of t of these petitions. rick perry has flirted with the idea of an independent texas in the past, but this time he's changed his tune. his office released a statement saying governor perry believes in the greatness of our union and nothing should be done to change it. but he also shares the frustrations many americans have with our federal government. really? believe it or not, it's good news for democrats that texas is sticking around, because it's slowly turning blue. texas has a large growing population of latinos and asian-americans who typically vote democratic. a study from the "houston chronicle" shows the number of texas democrats matching up with republicans around the year 2024. but former florida governor jeb bush has a faster timetable. he said last month, quote, four years from now, texas is going to be a so-called blue state. for more let's bring in jim

moore, director of the progress texas pac and the author of the book "bush's brain." jim, good to have you back wow. >> hey, ed. >> how serious are these folks? are they signing a petition out of frustration, or do they really want to break away from the union and have america the way they wanted it? are they frustrated they lost the election, so damn it, we want our own country? how serious are they? >> i think they're serious, but every culture has its kind of whack jobs out on the periphery, and texas is no different. i will concede the point, however, that texas has more than our blessed boat load of net jobs who want to leave the nation. these are people who also claim to be patriots like rick perry and out of one side of their mouth they say they're patriots and out of the other side of their mouth they say they want to leave the united states of america. in the midst of all this, of course, rick perry changed his position on this because he has thp thin dream of running for president again, he is a guy who

today sent out a dog whistle to all of the these people and said, i'm going to drug test everybody who wants to get social services from the state of texas, which is another way of saying, if you want to live in a refrigerator box and drink unsweetened kool-aid, you have to pass a drug test in the state of texas. it's a real deal. >> what's the mood among texas republicans right now? are they doing the whisper thing saying, maybe this isn't a bad idea? are they against it? >> nobody has publicly said anything about it, ed, from the party officially. i think that they have to do this deal where they walk align and stay away from this thing. but they believe in it, and they want to support these people and want to suggest, i think you're right. i think the president is crazy, but look, let's acknowledge what's really at work here in the subtext of this is race. people don't like the fact that there's an african-american in the white house. >> no doubt about it.

okay. what happens to texas if it becomes a blue state? what does that do to the map and republican party if texas is the state of the other team? >> i think two things happen. first, in this congressional session if there isn't some compromise by the republican party and the people in texas, the latino voters who have begun turning out in big numbers finally after this election, this will mean that the republican party is destroyed for at least a generation. i think in 2016 with texas in the democratic column, it's going to be very difficult for any republican to even dream for generations of winning the white house. >> quickly -- >> that's really possible. >> do you think the state legislature in texas will wake up to na? >> it's really hard to judge. we have a whacky legislature still controlled by very conservative people, ed. we're going to see the legislature coming in in january. we will see some things change, and democrats are